How Luis Suárez conquered Anfield: the bite against PSV, a frustrated duo with Fernando Torres and some confusion with the English

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Anfield roars, roars The Kop, haunted by the rhythm of that mythical Depeche Mode song:

(His name is Suárez, he wears the famous red shirt) /

».

Three Acres Close is a stealthy alley in the prestigious Woolton neighborhood. A corner south of Liverpool, oblivious to the heartbeat of the city. About five miles from the Melwood training grounds and, not least for its neighbors, very close to the airport. A few steps back, decades ago, a teenaged aunt

lived with his aunt

. You can also smell the famous Strawberry Field.

spent a

good part of his glorious days at Liverpool in

one of the houses in Three Acres Close

. One step away from

,

and even

. That home was inherited by Luis Suárez (Salto, Uruguay, 1987). Without Fernando, Luis probably wouldn't have been possible at Anfield. “The prospect of playing alongside Fernando had excited me. It was a shame not even being able to train with him. I would have had something to tell my children: 'I played with Fernando Torres.' Many fans told me that it would have been nice to have seen us play together ", recalls the Uruguayan striker in his autobiography

, written by Peter Jenson and Sid Lowe.

Fernando Torres was the germ of Luis Suárez's romance with the

.

In the summer of 2010, Torres, a

icon

, receives the first proposal from Chelsea, but Liverpool, in the middle of the economic and institutional crisis, with the fans of nails with its owners, the Texan businessmen

and

, reject the offer. .

Fernando was the shield that prevented the club from exploding and the mass could be thrown on top.

By then they had already started the search for a ram with which to reinforce the squad.

, sports director in those days, focused the question on Torres' surroundings: "With which forward would Fernando feel comfortable?"

The answer: «Luis Suárez would be very good».

Bite Otmar Bakkal

Suárez played in the Dutch league since 2006. First at Groningen and then at Ajax (111 goals in 159 games). November came and in an electric duel against PSV, Luis short-circuited. Suddenly a tangana, suddenly a bite to midfielder

: was suspended with seven games by the federation. Two more were imposed by his team. That first bite of his career generated an almost national debate in the Netherlands and forced the whole of Amsterdam to give it a go. Liverpool's door flew open. «His arrival seemed wonderful to us because Fernando and he complemented each other. One was going into space and the other was a predator, “they remind this newspaper from the Bahía Internacional agency, which represented (and represents) Torres. The initial idea was to bring both of them together. But Chelsea reappeared, this time with 58.5 million, and

, who had just arrived, approved the transfer.

Luis Suárez's representative was

(Pep's brother), who lacked the UEFA license to carry out the transfer. So he asked Bahía Internacional for the favor to take charge of closing the operation. The firm of

, general director of the agency, initialed the deal for 26.5 million. "If Liverpool had sold Torres and only signed me, everyone would have thought: 'Suárez is coming to replace Torres.' Andy [Carroll] was like a human shield to me. He cost more than me (40), so everyone talked about him being Fernando's substitute, ”reveals the Uruguayan in his autobiography, who ended up buying Torres's house.

Suárez, who had worn the number 16 at Ajax (the date of his wedding anniversary), was offered the 7, the 11 and the 15, since the 9 was Carroll.

And he chose the mythical 7 that decades ago

or

, his coach,

raised to infinity

.

«I saw Luis at a level that I have not seen anyone.

I got along very well with him.

You looked at where he was, you threw a cucumber into the hole and you waited to see what he would do ”, are the memories for EL MUNDO of José Enrique, companion and friend.

"I have seen him travel to Uruguay with the national team, return to England on a Friday afternoon and score three goals."

"Luis, left out"

José Enrique was present during that anecdote that the battering ram himself uncovered.

In one of his first matches, Dalglish, in his Scottish accent, addressed him: '

'.

He interpreted that

as that he would play left winger.

"You're going to have help," he said to the side with conviction.

Language things.

«I always remember one of his Premier League games against Norwich (April 28, 2012).

Before leaving, he looked at me and said, 'I feel good today.'

I started laughing: 'It doesn't matter, if you always put them in'.

And he ended up scoring three goals, ”recalls José Enrique, looking back.

Luis Suárez, during the last training session.ÓSCAR DEL POZOAFP

This Wednesday he returns to Anfield, the temple where he scored 45 of the 82 goals signed in his 133 games as a

, to try to channel the fate of Atlético. There he reached his peak with

on the bench (31 goals and Golden Boot), fighting until the last breath with City for the 2014 Premier. Atlético de Simeone won their first league at the same time. He was also punished twice: once for that "black" to

and once for biting

.

At his home in Uruguay, aside from a handful of old newspaper clippings, Suárez has a shirt signed in black marker by

, who was his captain.

The dedication: "For the best one I've ever played with."

He always used to remember that he always chose Gerrard when he played the PlayStation, being a footballer for Nacional.

"My son [Benjamin] was born here and my daughter [Delfina] knows the songs of Liverpool," he said before being shipwrecked at Anfield with Barça (2019).

Without a doubt, your daughter's favorite tune is that catchy one:

«His name is Suárez, he wears the famous Red / I just can't get enough, I just can't get enough».

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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